Libya and the United States

Photo cred: LA Times

For the past few weeks, we've all been watching the situation in Libya and surrounding countries. Moammar Gadhafi, the leader of Libya, has refused to step down despite widespread opposition among the Libyan people. But last week, the United States has become involved in the situation as well. On March 19th, President Obama ordered US troops to begin enforcing a "no-fly zone" in Libya. The United States was not acting alone, but was working with several allies, and was authorized under the United Nations Security Council Resolution of 1973.

Which led me to ask, how much do the American people support a US military intervention in the Middle East? The answer I got was not surprising. In this poll from CNN, it is clear that Americans are generally supportive of military action in Libya. However, support wavers when it comes to directly attacking Gadhafi's troops. Because direct attacks put soldiers' lives at risk, Americans are not willing to commit to aggressive military action.

But now that US troops have been ordered to interfere, another question arises: what will happen next? This is one of the most important questions that President Obama faces. If Gadhafi is not removed from power soon, Americans may grow impatient and support for military presence may dwindle. However, if Gadhafi is defeated, the international community must still decide how to move forward in Libya. Who will be the next leader? How much influence will the US and other countries have in creating a new government? All of these questions are difficult to answer, and President Obama must move forward cautiously in order to make sure the American people are behind US interference in Libya.

For an updated timeline on what's going on in Libya, check out this blog.

How Technology is Changing the World

Photo cred: CNN

It's fairly obvious to say technology is changing the world. Ten years ago no one knew what "Facebook" or "Twitter" were, yet now we can't imagine life without them. And although these are great tools for reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, more and more people are discovering the greater impact social networking sites can have. In these past few weeks the crisis in Egypt proved that the internet is for more than grass-root campaigns to get Betty White on SNL. In fact, it can start a revolution. Initially sparked by one man, Wael Ghonim, the revolution grew mainly because of the use of social networking sites. Social networking sites have also played significant roles in the revolutions in Tunisia and Libya. The role of the internet in the Middle East is summed up well in this video from CBS News. The true question is: what will the internet spark next?

This week we also saw the astounding development of technology when IBM's computer Watson competed on Jeopardy--and won. In light of this, there has been a lot of discussion about not only how computers can take over jobs previously held by humans, but about how far we are from computers becoming more intelligent than humans. Watson is not perfect; in fact, it made a number of mistakes. But it is still an amazing feat that will have countless advantages in the future. For instance, Watson can be used in the healthcare industry. Here's a great video about the experience and Watson's future:



Technology was also addressed in President Obama's State of the Union address. He spoke about the need for technology in order for the United States to remain competitive in today's world. Obama has repeatedly stated that training in technology is essential in the education system today. This week he even met with some of the industry's biggest leaders to speak about how technology can impact job creation. So in a world where technology already plays a huge role in our lives, how will it affect us next?